Megadethin David Ellefson tulevasta albumista: ”Uuden aikakauden alku”

Thrash metal -legenda Megadethin on määrä aloittaa uuden albumin äänittäminen. Yhtyeen piti aloittaa äänitykset maaliskuun lopussa Nashvillessa, mutta koronaepidemian tuomat rajoitukset ovat pakottaneet yhtyettä lykkäämään äänitysten aloittamista. Tuleva albumi on myös ensimmäinen yhtyeen uuden rumpalin Dirk Verbeurenin kanssa, joka liittyi kokoonpanoon vuonna 2016.

Yhtyeen basisti David Ellefson kertoi WRIF-radiokanavalle tämän hetkisestä tilanteesta:

”We were going to start recording the new record here at the end of March. Of course, that’s right as everything was shutting down [due to the coronavirus pandemic]. And our drummer Dirk [Verbeuren] lives in Los Angeles, and California was one of the first states to really shut things down. As soon as we can, as soon as possible we will enter the studio.

Artikkeli jatkuu mainoksen jälkeen Mainos päättyy

Ellefson arvioi, että yhtye voisi päästä aloittamaan äänitykset toukokuussa, mikäli kaikki menee hyvin:

”I mean, we’re looking at — I don’t know — May, something like that. As soon as we can get together and it’s safe for us to be. Nashville is where we’re based, where our operation [is] now, and where we’ll do the recording. And a lot of that, too [depends on other factors] — the studios have to be open. All the studio services, with cartage and technician people. It’s, like, where the heck do you get a sandwich if everything is closed? Just all the stuff you take for granted.”

Dave Mustainen syöpään sairastuminen ja hoitojen läpi käyminen antoi bändille myös aikaa ottaa etäisyyttä levyyn, mikä paljastui Ellefsonin mukaan lopulta, omalla ironisella tavallaan, hyväksi asiaksi. Itse albumin lopputuloksesta basisti tuntuu olevan innoissaan:

’We then got together in 2019 — in the summer, we got together for about two months. And we worked together. We lived in a band house next to the farm where Dave lives in Nashville. And it was great. One of the things Dave said, he goes, ’These last bunch of years, it’s almost like we get together, we plug in, we record our parts, we all go home and that’s it.’ So he goes, ’I really wanna spend the time listening. Like, record it, sit back, listen.’ And even when he was going through his cancer treatments here at the end of 2019, in an ironic twist of fate, it gave us time to get away from the record, ’cause we worked really hard on it for two months there last summer and essentially pieced it all together. But then, stepping back, getting away from it, fresh ears, coming back to it, one thing that hit us is how good it is. I mean, management was, like, ’Oh my gosh! This is next level, beyond ’Dystopia’. This is absolutely perfect. This is the next-level record for Megadeth.’ And I listened to it and I was, like, ’You know, I think they’re right.’ ’Cause sometimes you can get so close to the creative process, you’re in it and you can’t tell. I guess it’s like if you keep tasting the soup, you don’t really know if you put too much salt in it. So we stepped back a little bit, and when we regrouped and listened to it again, we were just, like, ’Wow!’ I think we went past where we thought we were on this and I think we’re now into a new era of this new record.”